Lavett Ballard, Her View, 2016. Mixed media collage on reclaimed wood fencing, 30 x 40 in. © 2016 by Lavett Ballard. Permission to reprint may be obtained only from the artist. This image appeared on the Winter 2021 issue of Signs.
Artist Statement
I view my art as a re-imagined visual narrative of people of African descent. My use of imagery reflects social issues affecting primarily black women’s stories within a historical context. My current body of work uses collaged photos adorned with paint, oil pastels, and metallic foils. These photos are deconstructed and layered on reclaimed large and small aged wood fences. The use of fences is a symbolic reference to how fences keep people in and out, just as racial and gender identities can do the same socially. The fusion of wood and photography offers artwork that both explores my Southern roots and visually speaks volumes to continuing themes within my community.
My portfolio can be viewed via www.LavettBeArt.com.
Artist Biography
Lavett Ballard is an artist, art historian, curator, and author. She holds a dual bachelor’s degree in studio art and art history with a minor in museum studies from Rutgers University, and an MFA in studio art from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Ballard’s art has been commissioned as a cover for the Time Magazine Woman of the Year special, a double edition released March 2020. She is a Yaddo Artist residency recipient for 2020, has been nominated for a Pew Foundation residency, and has been named by Black Art in America as one of the Top 10 Female Emerging Artists to Collect. Ballard’s work has been in film productions and exhibited at galleries and museums nationwide. Her work has been acquired by prominent collections such as the African American Museum of Philadelphia, the Colored Girls Museum, the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection, and the Grant and Tamia Hill private Collection.